Epidemiologic
studies and laboratory research consistently link alcohol use with aggression.
Not all people, however, exhibit increased aggression under the influence
of alcohol. Recent research suggests that people with antisocial personality
disorder (ASPD) may be more prone to alcohol-related aggression than people
without ASPD. As a group, people with ASPD have higher rates of alcohol dependence
and more alcohol-related problems than people without ASPD. Likewise, in laboratory
studies, people with ASPD show greater increases in aggressive behavior after
consuming alcohol than people without ASPD. The association between ASPD and
alcohol-related aggression may result from biological factors, such as ASPD-related
impairments in the functions of certain brain chemicals (e.g., serotonin)
or in the activities of higher reasoning, or executive, brain
regions. Alternatively, the association between ASPD and alcohol-related aggression
may stem from some as yet undetermined factor(s) that increase the risk for
aggression in general. KEY
WORDS: antisocial personality disorder; aggressive behavior; AODR (alcohol
or other drug [AOD] related) behavioral problem; personality trait; AODR violence;
expectancy theory of AODU (AOD use, abuse, and dependence); disinhibition
theory of AODU; neurobiological theory of AODU; brain function; AODE (effects
of AOD use, abuse, and dependence) on emotion
Numerous
studies indicate an association between alcohol consumption and aggressive
behavior. Not all people who consume alcohol, however, become aggressive.
In trying to elucidate the relationship between alcohol consumption and aggression,
researchers have suggested that people with a psychiatric condition called
antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) may be particularly susceptible to
alcohol-related aggression. This article explores that association in more
detail. First, the article describes the distinguishing features of ASPD.
Then it reviews the findings of epidemiologic and laboratory studies that
have investigated the link between ASPD and aggression. Finally, the article
presents several mechanisms that may contribute to differences between people
with and without ASPD with respect to alcohol-related aggression.
Characteristics
of ASPD
According
to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
(DSM-IV) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) (1994), ASPD is
characterized by a pervasive disregard for, and violation of, other peoples
rights. The concept of such a personality type is not new. For example, Theophrastus,
a student of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, described a personality
type that he termed the unscrupulous man and which included behaviors
that are significant elements of the current concept of ASPD (Millon
et al. 1998).
During
the past century, researchers and clinicians have used numerous terms to describe
ASPD, including moral insanity, psychopathy, and sociopathy.
Likewise, the symptoms considered to be the key elements of psychopathy
or an antisocial personality have evolved from a focus on the lack of emotional
attachment in relationships with others (Cleckley
1964) to a greater focus on external behaviors, especially aggressive and
impulsive behaviors (APA 1994). The current criteria for ASPD, as described
in DSM-IV, include a behavioral pattern that begins before age 15 and comprises
at least three of the following behaviors:
- Repeated
criminal acts
- Deceitfulness
- Impulsiveness
- Repeated
fights or assaults
- Disregard
for the safety of others
- Irresponsibility
- Lack
of remorse.
Because
a diagnosis of ASPD according to the DSM-IV criteria requires the presence
of only three of the aforementioned behaviors, considerable variability (i.e.,
heterogeneity) exists among people diagnosed with the disorder. Thus, some
ASPD patients may be nonviolent, whereas others may be extremely violent.
Some evidence suggests that ASPD patients with histories of violence beginning
in childhood may differ from other ASPD patients with respect to certain biological
and behavioral characteristics. (This evidence is discussed in more detail
in the section Potential Mechanisms Contributing to Alcohol-Related Aggression,
p. 9.) Accordingly, clinicians and scientists may find it helpful to study
ASPD patients who exhibit repeated violent behaviors as a separate group from
other ASPD patients.
ASPD
is a relatively common disorder; in fact, it is more common than many other
psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar, or manic-depressive, disorder (APA
1994). Overall, approximately 3 per-cent of men and 1 percent of women in the general population
meet the criteria for ASPD (APA 1994). Perhaps not surprisingly, the prevalence
of the disorder is even higher in selected populations, such as people in
prisons (who include many violent offenders) (Hare 1983). Similarly, the prevalence
of ASPD is higher among patients in alcohol or other drug (AOD) abuse treatment
programs than in the general population (Hare 1983), suggesting a link between
ASPD and AOD abuse and dependence. Accordingly, when investigating the association
between alcohol and violence, studying people with ASPD is particularly appropriate.
Epidemiologic
Studies of Alcohol and Violence
Research
on the epidemiology of violence has consistently linked alcohol intoxication
and violence (Murdoch et al. 1990). For example, a positive correlation exists
between the quantity of alcohol consumed and the frequency of a wide variety
of violent acts, including sexual assault, child abuse, and homicide. (For
more information on this correlation, see other articles in this issue.)
Epidemiologic
studies also have noted an association between ASPD and alcohol abuse and
dependence. For example, in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Survey, which surveyed 20,291 persons living
at 5 sites across the United States,
the people who met the DSM criteria for ASPD were 21 times more likely to
develop alcohol abuse and dependence at some point during their lives than
were the people who did not have ASPD (Regier et
al. 1990).
Some
of the behaviors included in the criteria for ASPD (e.g., repeated criminal
acts, including driving while intoxicated) could result from alcohol dependence
rather than be symptoms of ASPD. To exclude this possibility when examining
the relationship between ASPD and problem drinking, researchers have specifically
studied people who met the criteria for ASPD before they developed drinking
problems. For example, Schuckit (1985) assessed
the relationship between ASPD and drinking behaviors in 577 people who entered
an alcoholism treatment program. The study found that those people who had
ASPD before they developed drinking problems consumed significantly more drinks
per day and experienced significantly more alcohol-related problems (e.g.,
being fired or demoted or spending time in jail) compared with people who
did not meet the criteria for ASPD. When analyzed together, these findings
suggest that (1) people with ASPD experience higher rates of alcohol abuse
and dependence than the general population and (2) people with ASPD who drink
to excess are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems than other
alcoholics.
As
previously discussed, at least some people with ASPD exhibit violent behavior.
Without controlled laboratory studies, however, researchers cannot determine
whether people with ASPD are more susceptible to alcohol-related aggression
than other people, because confounding variables may affect epidemiologic
studies on alcohol-related aggression. For example, the positive correlation
between the amount of alcohol consumed and increased involvement in acts of
violence holds for both perpetrators and victims of violent crimes (Murdoch
et al. 1990).
Laboratory
Studies of Aggressive Behavior
Laboratory
studies (i.e., studies that use laboratory measures of human aggression) can
control for many of the confounding variables that affect epidemiologic studies,
thereby allowing for a direct measurement of the association between alcohol
and aggression. In these studies, the participant typically is paired with
a fictitious opponent with whom the participant competes in performing a certain
task. To win the competition, the participant can subject the opponent to
actions that most people would consider unwanted or unpleasant (e.g., taking
away money from the opponent or exposing the opponent to an electric shock
or a loud noise). The quantity or intensity of the unpleasant act performed
on the opponent serves as the measure of the participants level of aggression.
One
widely used example of a laboratory measure of aggression is the Point Subtraction
Aggression Paradigm© (Cherek
1992). In this experimental design, each study participant sits in front of
a computer monitor and a mechanical box that has two buttons on it. The researchers
tell the participants that they must press one of the buttons on their mechanical
box as fast as possible to earn money, the amount of which is displayed on
their computer screen. The subjects are also told that they each have been
paired with another person, or opponent (who is actually fictitious).
The so-called opponents can ostensibly take money away from the subjects through
a computer connection. In turn, the subjects can press the second button on
their boxes in order to retaliate and take money from the paired opponents.
Periodically, the researchers provoke the participants by having money taken
from their accounts, ostensibly by the opponents with whom they are paired.
The number of times a participant retaliates by pressing the second button
in order to take money from his or her opponent serves as a measure of the
participants level of aggression.
Although
some researchers have argued that these types of laboratory measures are artificial
and too far removed from ordinary experience (Tedeschi
and Quigley 1996), numerous studies have established the validity of this
approach in distinguishing between violent and less violent people, as follows:
- Male
parolees convicted of violent felonies exhibited more aggressive responses
in the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm than did parolees convicted
of nonviolent felonies (Cherek et al. 1996, 1997).
- Female
parolees with self-reported histories of violent behavior demonstrated significantly
more aggressive responses than did female parolees with nonviolent histories
(Cherek et al. 2000).
- Although
the relationship between a persons testosterone hormone level and
level of aggression is complex, many studies have found an association between
increased testosterone levels and high aggression (Archer 1991). Human laboratory
studies have confirmed that higher levels of testosterone, whether resulting
from testosterone administration (Kouri et al.
1995) or from a persons own (i.e., endogenous) testosterone levels
(Dougherty et al. 1997), were related to higher rates of aggression in both
men and women.
In
addition to their validity, these laboratory measures allow researchers to
study aggression in a controlled environment. Therefore, this approach also
has been used to investigate the association between alcohol and aggression.
Laboratory
Studies of Alcohol and Aggression
Bushman
and Cooper (1990) reviewed the results of 30 laboratory studies that used
the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm and other laboratory measures of
aggression to assess the effects of alcohol consumption on aggression. Among
those studies, several investigations using a variety of laboratory measures
of aggression demonstrated that the consumption of alcohol-containing beverages
resulted in greater aggressive behavior among the participants than did the consumption of non-alcohol-containing
beverages. Based on those studies, the authors concluded that alcohol does
in fact increase aggression in humans.
However,
high variability exists in the extent to which alcohol is related with aggression
as measured in such laboratory studies. Furthermore, as in real-life
alcohol consumption, not all study participants show increased aggression
after drinking alcohol. This variability likely results from individual personality
traits that influence a persons predisposition to aggressive behavior
(e.g., the presence of ASPD) both in the presence and absence of alcohol.
For example, as mentioned earlier in this section, laboratory studies in which
the participants received no alcohol demonstrated that people with histories
of behaviors associated with ASPD were more aggressive than were people without
such histories. Similarly, male prisoners incarcerated for violent crimes
demonstrated more aggressive behavior in lab-oratory tests than did age-matched
college students (Wolfe and Baron 1971).1 (1 Although these prisoners
were not diagnosed with ASPD according to the current criteria, some criteria
of ASPD, such as impulsive and aggressive behavior, are highly likely to be
present in persons incarcerated for violent crimes.)
The
influence of a history of aggressive behavior also was demonstrated in a study
of cocaine dependent people who had stopped using cocaine within 2 weeks of
participating in the study. In this study Moeller and colleagues (1997) measured
aggression using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm and recorded the
participants self-reported quantity of cocaine used, duration of abstinence
from cocaine, severity of withdrawal symptoms, and history of aggressive behavior.
The study found that a history of aggression beginning in childhood was the
most important predictor of current aggressive behavior in the participants,
whereas the amount of cocaine used was a less important predictor. Furthermore,
no significant relationship existed between the amount of cocaine withdrawal
symptoms and the level of aggressive behavior exhibited by the study participants.
These findings support the belief that a life long history of aggressive behavior
(which is one of the criteria for ASPD) plays a critical role in predicting
current aggressive behavior.
The
importance of various individual differences, including personality characteristics,
in determining the susceptibility to aggressive behavior also has been demonstrated
in other non-alcohol related laboratory aggression studies, as follows:
- Women
who reported moderate to severe menstrual symptoms were more aggressive
across their cycles than women who reported minimal symptoms (Dougherty
et al. 1998).
- Men
with high levels of trait hostility as measured by hostility assessing questionnaires
showed enhanced susceptibility to increases in aggression after receiving
a treatment that lowers the levels of the brain chemical serotonin2
(2 Low levels of serotonin have been associated with certain
personality characteristics, such as aggression and depression.) (Dougherty
et al. 2000).
Women
with borderline personality disorder3 (3 Borderline
personality disorder, which occurs primarily in women, is characterized by
a pattern of intense and self destructive relationships along with impulsive
behaviors (APA 1994).) demonstrated
more aggressive responses than did women without the disorder (Dougherty et
al. 1999a).
Several
laboratory studies have supported the idea that the level of alcohol related
aggression is related to whether a person has a history of past aggressive
behavior. For example, Giancola and Zeichner
(1995) demonstrated in a study using laboratory measures of aggression that
aggressive personality characteristics are associated with alcohol related
aggression. Bailey and Taylor (1991) also demonstrated the interactions between
personality traits, alcohol consumption, and aggression. In that study, college
students with higher self reported trait hostility demonstrated more rapid
increases in aggression in response to provocation after alcohol consumption
than did students with lower trait hostility.
In
a study comparing the effects of alcohol on aggression in both men and women,
Dougherty and colleagues (1999b) also found evidence for the influence
of individual differences in personality characteristics. In that study, both
the men and women exhibited similar increases in aggression after consuming
alcohol. Further analysis indicated, however, that these increases in aggression
were particularly high in the participants who demonstrated elevated levels
of aggressive responding even when they did not receive alcohol
(i.e., under placebo conditions). In other words, participants with the strongest
tendencies for aggression while sober exhibited the greatest increases in
aggression after consuming alcohol. Of particular interest, the proportion
of men and women in the low and high aggression groups was nearly equal (see
figure 1).

Figure
1 Effects of alcohol consumption on mean number of aggressive responses
as determined using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) (Cherek
1992). The participants completed six sessions on each of two test days (i.e.,
a placebo day and an alcohol dose day). On both days, the participants consumed
a beverage 15 minutes before sessions 2, 3, and 4. On the alcohol dose day,
each beverage contained alcohol corresponding to approximately 1.5 standard
drinks*. The participants were divided into two groups based on high and low
aggressive performance on the placebo day. Alcohol ingestion increased aggressive
responding in the aggressive group (i.e., participants who had been more aggressive
on the placebo day) but not in the nonaggressive
group.
*A
standard drink is defined as one 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine,
or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
The
observations described in the previous paragraph suggest that people with
ASPD, many of whom have particularly strong aggressive tendencies, should
be especially prone to alcohol related aggression. To explore this notion
in more detail, Moeller and colleagues (1998) compared alcohols effect
on aggression in 8 people who met the criteria for ASPD with 10 people who
did not meet those criteria. As was to be expected based on the diagnostic
criteria, the participants with ASPD had committed significantly more aggressive
acts over their lifetimes than had the non ASPD participants.
During
the study, the participants each received four drinks (one drink per day)
containing varying amounts of alcohol before their level of aggression was
assessed using the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm. The study found
a significant difference in alcohols effect on aggressive responding
between participants with and without ASPD. Thus, participants with ASPD exhibited
a greater increase in aggressive responding after consuming alcohol than did
the non ASPD participants (see figure 2).

Figure
2 Alcohols effect on aggressive responding in both people with and
people without antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Researchers compared
the levels of aggressive responding in study participants after they consumed
a nonalcoholic beverage (i.e., placebo) with responses after they consumed
1 gram of alcohol per kilogram body weight (corresponding to approximately
four standard drinks*). In people without ASPD, alcohol consumption slightly
decreased aggressive responding, whereas in people with ASPD, alcohol consumption
substantially increased aggressive responding.
*A
standard drink is defined as one 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine,
or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
As
with previous research using other samples, the alcohol related increase in
aggressive behavior was positively correlated with the number of past aggressive
acts the participants had committed.
When
analyzed together, the findings of these human laboratory studies on the association
between aggression, personality characteristics, and alcohol consumption allow
three main conclusions, as follows:
- As
a group, people with ASPD appear to be more aggressive than people without
ASPD, although not all people with ASPD show increased aggressive behavior.
- The
most important predictor of current aggressive behavior appears to be the
amount of aggressive behavior a person has demonstrated in the past.
- People
who are more likely to be aggressive when sober, regardless of the underlying
reasons, are more likely to exhibit increased aggressive behavior when under
the influence of alcohol.
Potential
Mechanisms Contributing to Alcohol Related Aggression
Several
theories exist regarding the causes underlying alcohol related aggression.
Some of these theories focus on the roles of expectancies, changes in brain
function, and changes in brain chemistry.
Expectancies
The
term expectancies refers to the notion that a person has certain
assumptions about alcohols effects on behavior. For example, common
expectancies associated with alcohol consumption are that alcohol will make
the drinker less inhibited and more outgoing. Such expectancies can influence
a drinkers behavior, because people are more likely to behave under
the influence of alcohol in the manner in which they expect to behave.
Evidence
for the effect of expectancies derives from studies in which participants
were first asked to describe the way they believed alcohol influenced behavior.
Subsequently, the participants received a drink that they were told contained
alcohol, but which in fact did not contain significant amounts of alcohol.
The study found that the participants showed increases in those behaviors
that they believed would be increased by alcohol, even though they had not
received any alcohol (Leigh 1989). Thus, the observation that people with
a history of aggressive behavior show increased aggression under the influence
of alcohol may result from the fact that these people expect alcohol to make
them more aggressive.
Expectancies
probably are not the sole explanation for alcohol related aggression, however.
In fact, to reduce the influence of expectancies, researchers conducting studies
using laboratory measures of aggression generally take great care not to mention
the studys purpose to the participants. For example, in the study by
Moeller and colleagues (1998) on the association between ASPD and alcohol
related aggression, the participants were told that the studys purpose
was to measure alcohols effects on mood and reaction time. Furthermore,
in another study demonstrating that alcohol increased aggression significantly
more than an active placebo,4 (4 An active placebo in this case
is a drink that contains enough alcohol to have an alcoholic aroma but not
enough alcohol to result in detectable blood alcohol levels.) Chermack and Taylor
(1995) detected no significant effect of expectancies on behavior and no significant
interaction between expectancies and the alcohol dose used.
Changes
in Brain Function
Another
theory regarding the mechanisms through which alcohol increases aggression
centers around the way that alcohol disinhibits, or brings out, behaviors that are normally
repressed. This theory is based on the concept that alcohol impairs higher
reasoning, or executive, brain functions, allowing more basic
or impulsive brain functions to take over. Support for this theory derives
from study findings indicating that alcohol intoxication impairs several aspects
of higher brain functioning, including planning, verbal fluency, attention,
and memory (Peterson et al. 1990; Dougherty et al. 1999c). Likewise,
some studies have found that people with ASPD experience deficits in higher
reasoning or executive cognitive brain function (Giancola
and Moss 1998), thereby suggesting that these people may be more susceptible
to alcohols aggression inducing effects.
Changes
in Brain Chemistry
Alcohol
has direct biochemical effects on the brain itself. Although alcohols
effects on the brain are complex and not fully understood, researchers have
demonstrated that alcohol alters the activities of several brain chemicals
(i.e., neurotransmitters), including g-aminobutyric acid
(GABA) and serotonin. Both of these neurotransmitters have been associated
with aggressive behavior.
GABA
is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain--that is, it depresses
the activity of the nerve cells it regulates. Like other neurotransmitters,
GABA modulates the activity of a cell by interacting with certain molecules
(i.e., receptors) on the cells surface, thereby initiating a chain of
biochemical reactions that result in altered nerve cell activity. Two main
types of GABA receptors exist, GABAA and GABAB. Alcohol, like certain sedating
agents (e.g., benzodiazepines, such as ValiumÓ, and barbiturates), enhances GABAs
effect on the GABAA receptor. Thus, at least some of alcohols effects
probably are mediated through this neurotransmitter in select brain regions
(Cooper et al. 1991). Furthermore, animal studies have found that treating
animals with medications which block GABA activity can diminish alcohol related
aggression (Miczek et al. 1993). Thus, alcohol may increase aggression,
at least in part, by directly affecting GABA activity.
Alcohol
also affects serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter
that is widely distributed in the brain. It is involved in the coordination
of complex motor and sensory patterns of behavior, such as sleep, appetite,
and mood (Cooper et al. 1991). Most studies have found that alcohol increases
brain serotonin levels, although other studies have noted that alcohol decreases
serotonin levels, at least in some brain regions (LeMarquand et al. 1994). Alcohols effects on brain serotonin
may contribute to alcohol related aggression, because studies of impulsively
violent people with ASPD have found that those people have lower serotonin
levels than do nonviolent people (Brown et al. 1979). Consequently, alcohol
related reductions in serotonin levels may exacerbate the susceptibility to
aggressive behavior in people with ASPD. (For more information
on serotonins role in alcohol related aggression, see the article in
this issue by Higley, pp. 12-19).
Conclusions
People
with ASPD are more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence
and, as discussed in this article, are more susceptible to alcohols
aggression related effects than people without the disorder. Several studies
have demonstrated that aggressive personality traits are associated with an
increase in aggression after drinking alcohol. Furthermore, in a study of
people with ASPD, those participants who had exhibited the most aggression
in the past were most likely to become aggressive under the influence of alcohol.
Researchers have developed several theories to explain the cause of alcohol
related aggression that focus on expectancies, brain function, and brain chemistry.
However, it is unlikely that any one factor can sufficiently explain the association
between alcohol consumption and increased aggression.
Human
laboratory studies have led to significant advances in understanding the relationship
between personality and alcohol related aggression. Several questions
remain, however, regarding the role of ASPD in this relationship. For example,
it is still unclear whether the association of alcohol related aggression
with ASPD results from some key feature of ASPD itself or from the difficulties
that many people with ASPD have in controlling aggressive or impulsive behaviors.
Similarly, researchers have not yet determined the neurological and biochemical
factors underlying alcohol related aggression. Once scientists have further
elucidated these issues, researchers may be able to develop successful treatment
approaches aimed at decreasing alcohol related aggression. Because alcohol
related violence continues to be a significant public health problem, further
research on the relationship between ASPD and alcohol related aggression clearly
is warranted.
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